The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
T
MEAC STAFF Brenda H. McCoy, Director of Championships Patricia Porter, Director of Media Relations Anthony Henderson, Director of Marketing/ Sponsorships Sonja Stills, Director of Compliance/Asst. to Commissioner Debra Davis, Director of Finance Raynoid Dedeaux, Compliance/Championships Aisha McCollum, Administrative Assistant Daniel Evans, Coordinator of Football Officials Luis Grillo, Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officials William Whites, Coordinator of Women’s Basketball Officials Adonis Hill, Supervisor of Baseball Officials MEAC COMMISSIONERS Dr. Dennis E. Thomas . . . . . 2002 - present Brenda H. McCoy (Interim) . . 1996 & 2002 Charles S. Harris . . . . . . . 1996 - 2002 Kenneth A. Free* . . . . . . . 1978 - 1996 Dr. James Young (Part-time) . . 1975 - 1978 Earl Mason (Part-time) . . . . . 1974 - 1975 Dr. Leroy Walker (Part-time) . . 1971 - 1974 *First full-time MEAC Commissioner MEAC SPONSORED SPORTS Women’s Sports Basketball Bowling Cross Country Indoor Track & Field Outdoor Track & Field Softball Tennis Volleyball Men’s Sports Baseball Basketball Cross Country Football Indoor Track & Field Outdoor Track & Field Tennis
he Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will expand its membership to 12 members this year, as the league voted to admit Winston-Salem State University into the league beginning in 2007-08 academic year. “We are elated to welcome Winston-Salem State into the MEAC family”, said Commissioner Thomas. Obviously we think that WSSU is an outstanding academic institution with an excellent athletics program.” Winston-Salem is in the third year of its reclassification from Division II to NCAA Division I status. WSSU will begin a full MEAC schedule in all sports beginning this season (2007-08). However they will not be eligible for MEAC Championship play until 2010-11. Winston-Salem Director of Athletics, Dr. Chico Caldwell, explained how the move to the MEAC is one of several steps the institution is making in their transition to the next level. “First of all, as we prepared for the years ahead, and the move to Division I, one of the keys to the puzzle was membership in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference,” said Dr. Caldwell. “We felt that the opportunity to be a member of the MEAC would afford us a way of rekindling several of our longstanding rivalries and establishing others, and we are happy and pleased that the vote has gone in our favor and we look forward to our future competition in the MEAC. The addition of Winston-Salem State marks the first expansion for the MEAC since 1997, when Norfolk State University became the 11th member of the league (Hampton University joined in 1995). WSSU becomes the second MEAC institution located in the state of North Carolina and the third in the Carolinas, joining North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro) and South Carolina State (Orangeburg). “Our goal is to become a strong and viable member of the MEAC in order to represent well within the conference, both regionally and nationally,” Dr. Caldwell added. “We truly believe that the MEAC is value-added to the direction of both WSSU and the WSSU Department of Athletics. Everyone here at WSSU, our alumni and supporters are truly excited about this opportunity.” About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) The MEAC is a Division I conference comprised of 12 historically black colleges and universities located across the Atlantic coastline. The league, established in 1970, is located in the Town Center of Virginia Beach, Virginia in the Armada Hoffler Tower.
sports highlights The MEAC has enjoyed great success over the years in athletics. Currently, the league has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in baseball (since 1994), men’s basketball (since 1981), women’s basketball (since 1982) , I-Championship Subdivision football (since 1996), softball (since 1995), men and women’s tennis (since 1998), and volleyball (since 1994).
• MEAC football has produced many NFL and professional football greats, including ten pro football Hall of Famers: Marion Motley (1968), Roosevelt Brown (1975), Len Ford (1976), David “Deacon” Jones (1980), Willie Lanier (1986), Art Shell (1989), Larry Little (1993), Leroy Kelly (1994), Elvin Bethea (2003), and Harry Carson (2006). Currently there are over 25 former MEAC football players on NFL rosters.
• MEAC basketball had two teams featured in the ESPN Sportcenter Top 10 All-Time upsets in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. No. 15 seed Coppin State defeated No. 2 South Carolina in 1997 and No. 15 Hampton, defeated No. 2 Iowa State in 2001.
• Florida A&M became the first MEAC school to win a volleyball match in the NCAA Tournament with a win over Winthrop in the first round of the 2003 Tournament. In 2004 the Lady Rattlers became the first HBCU ranked in the Top 25 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll.
28
OVERVIEW The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, an NCAA Division I Conference, is in its 38th year of operation heading into the 2007-2008 academic school year. Housed in the Armada Hoffler Tower at the Town Center of Virginia Beach, Virginia, the MEAC is currently made up of 12 (with the addition of WSSU in 2007-08) outstanding, historically black institutions across the Atlantic Coastline: Bethune-Cookman College, Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, South Carolina State University and Winston-Salem State University. The MEAC has enjoyed great success over the years in athletics. Currently, the league has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in baseball (since 1994), men’s basketball (since 1981), women’s basketball (since 1982) , I-Championship Subdivision football (since 1996), softball (since 1995), men and women’s tennis (since 1998), and volleyball (since 1994). HISTORY In 1969, a group of innovators long associated with intercollegiate athletics met in Durham, NC to discuss the feasibility of organizing a new conference based along the Atlantic coastline. A number of representatives from different institutions joined the steering committee in a two-day discussion about the new conference. Seven of these institutions agreed to become the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Delaware State College, Howard University, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, and South Carolina State University. The MEAC headquarters remained in Durham, NC until 1981, moving to Greensboro March 26, 1982. In August 2005, the MEAC relocated to its current location in Virginia Beach, VA. The league was confirmed in 1970, kicking off its first season of competition in football in 1971. In 1978, the MEAC selected its first full-time commissioner, Kenneth A. Free, and the following year, expanded to nine schools with the admission of two Florida schools: Bethune-Cookman College and Florida A&M University. The MEAC operated with nine schools until 1985 when Coppin State College was admitted. The final expansion, prior to the agreed-upon addition of WSSU, occurred in the ‘90s with the inclusion of Hampton University in 1995 and Norfolk State University in 1997. On June 8, 1980, the MEAC was classified Division One by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the following month, received an automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
• Bethune-Cookman earned the league’s first-ever at-large bid into the NCAA Softball Tournament in 2005. The Lady Wildcats went on to defeat Florida, Central Florida (UCF), and South Florida (USF) to win the Florida Regional in Gainesville, the first time any MEAC school has won an NCAA Regional. B-CC ended its remarkable 2005 season with the leagues’ first-ever ranking in the final softball polls, reaching No. 18 in the NSCA/USA Today Coaches poll and No. 23 in the USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll.